rising. Decline in fluid milk, cream 

 and ice cream consumption, caused by 

 the depression, has been stopped. 

 Consumption is now increasing. In 

 the next few years, everything points 

 to a still further increase in consump- 

 tion of fluid milk, cream and ice 

 cream. 



Butter Prices Going Up! 



Butter is going up! It is safe to 

 say that in all probability, butter prices 

 will mount faster than prices of other 

 commodities — even those the farmer 

 has to buy. Fluid milk prices in city 

 markets will be strengthened, thanks 

 to butter. Milk cows will be worth 

 more in the next two years. Indica- 

 tions are that they are likely to con- 

 tinue in value for four or five years. 



Even under favorable conditions for 

 feed production in 1937, 1938 and 

 1939, it hardly seems probable that to- 

 tal slaughter supplies will reach a lev- 

 el to the 1930-34 average before 1940. 



More Poultry on the Market 



Marketings of poultry this year will 

 be greater than any recent year except- 

 ing 1931. Storage stocks of frozen 

 poultry are expected to be especially 

 large on January 1 due to larger and 

 a stronger speculative demand. Chick- 

 ens on the farm January 1 will be 

 only slightly larger in number than a 

 year ago due to 'the feed shortage. 



Not quite as many chickens will be 

 hatched in 1937 as saw the light of 

 day in 1936.' Poultry marketing will 

 probably be less. Prices will drop 

 more than average until mid-winter 

 because of the greater-than-average 

 marketings. Egg production per hen 

 is expected to be less during the fall 

 and winter, about the same in the 

 spring. 



Egg marketings this fall and win- 

 ter will stay about the same as last 

 year. A little boost, both in market- 

 ings and price, is seen for the spring. 

 In the fall of '37, prices will probably 

 fall a little. There will be fewer 

 "gobbles" on farms next year. Low 

 prices and high feed cost will discour- 

 age turkey production in 1937. 



Cattle Numbers to be Smaller 



Cattle numbers at the beginning of 

 1937 are expected to be somewhat 

 smaller than those of a year earlier. 

 They will be much less than the peak 

 number of three years earlier. On 

 January 1, numbers will be greater 

 than the average for the last 15 years, 

 however. Old Man Drought is respon- 

 sible for the decrease in cattle pros- 

 pects next year. It won't be long be- 

 fore the general trend will swing up- 

 ward again. Prices will soon rise to 

 higher levels. Unless hog production 

 goes on a rampage as it did in 1929- 

 33, cattle prices will maintain their 

 high average. 



The brightest prospect in 1937 is 

 that for the commercial truck-crop 

 farmer. Production for fresh market 

 shipment will soar higher than the 

 record high volume in 1936. An 

 acreage increase of five to ten percent 

 is seen. The 10 percent rise of vege- 

 table prices is responsible for this. 



Farm Living on Better Scale 

 Better farm living! That's the out- 

 look for 1937! Gross agricultural in- 

 come of 1936 is continuing the up- 

 ward trend begun in 1933. This year's 

 income represents an increase of 11 

 percent over last year. It will con- 

 tinue upward in 1937. Greater use of 

 co-operative purchasing and selling 

 agencies is indicated. Both retail and 

 wholesale organizations have increased 

 in number and in size. This trend will 

 continue. 



Poor old Dobbin! His day is draw- 

 ing to a close. At the recent Wheatland 

 Plowing Match, not a horse took part. 

 Mules are also fading away. There 

 will be even fewer of both next year, 

 and the decline will continue for sev- 

 eral years. The low point in number 

 of horses and mules on farms will be 

 reached in four or five years. A fur- 

 ther switching from horses to tractdrs 

 for farm work is seen. 



Seed High Priced 

 Short supplies and increased de-' 

 mand indicate high prices for red 

 clover, sweetclover and alfalfa seed in 

 the spring and fall of 1937. Supplies 

 are about one-fourth smaller than in 

 1934 and 1935, and about one-third 

 smaller than the five-year 1929-34 av- 

 erage. Grasshoppers have taken their 

 toll in this field. 



Fruit Outlook Bright 



From the near-term and long-time 

 outlook, a rising volume of production 

 and sales of fruit during the next few 

 years seems likely. 'World production 

 of most fruits is increasing. Conse- 

 quently, keener competition may be 



-i^^^Lii^ 



expected in world markets. However, 

 if the American fruit industry con- 

 tinues to improve the quality of its 

 product and to maintain high export 

 standards, there should be a profitable 

 outlet for substantial quantities of 

 fruit in foreign markets. 



All in all, things look brighter for 

 the farmer in 1937. Considering the 

 1936 drought, farmers have come out 

 pretty well, the Bureau reports con- 

 clude. The man on the land is facing 

 his best year in the past eight, barring, 

 of course, unpredictable weather. 



Dr Finn Passes 



Dr. 'W. L. Finn, re-elected on No- 

 vember 3rd for a third term in the 

 State Senate, where 

 he represented the 

 Forty-second Dis- 

 trict, died at his 

 home at luka, No- 

 vember 7th. '^ 



In order to pro- 

 vide funds for re- 

 lief in the down- 

 state supervisor- 

 governed counties. 

 Senator Finn intro- 

 duced the bills which were enacted in 

 1931 transferring poor relief back 

 to the townships, where it had been 

 prior to 1874. Following the repeal 

 of this legislation in 1935, Senator 

 Finn joined Senators Hickman and 

 Lantz in introducing the bills spon- 

 sored by the Illinois Agricultural As- 

 sociation which again transferred re- 

 lief to the townships not only in all 

 down-state supervisor-governed coun- 

 ties, but also to the townships and the 

 City of Chicago in Cook County. 

 These bills became law in July of 

 this year and are now in effect. 



Senator Finn always maintained a 

 good record with the" Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association. His public ser- 

 vice was a credit to his district and 

 he will be missed in the General As- 

 sembly. 



Farmer co-operatives will probably 

 do close to $2,000 000 000 worth of 

 business this year, an increase of 20 per- 

 cent, the Bureau of Agricultural Eco- 

 nomics forecasts. Total membership in 

 farm co-operatives is placed at 3,660,- 

 000, an increase of nearly 12 percent. 





28 



L A. A. RECORD 



